ASK AN ECO ACTIVIST

This month Dale Vince OBE, windpower pioneer and founder of Ecotricity

WHY ARE YOU BLOWN AWAY BY WIND?

Wind energy releases no carbon emissions and, unlike fossil fuels, won’t run out. The UK is one of Europe’s windiest nations – with enough windfarms, we could power the country several times over.

WHAT SPARKED THE BIG NEW IDEA?

As a kid, I made electric gadgets using old dry cell batteries. They ran out quickly and I hated throwing them away – I knew energy was precious. I left school at 15 and lived off-grid for a decade, driving a truck with a windmill on the roof, which powered a couple of low-voltage lights and a water pump. In 1991, I realised we needed to change how electricity was made on a larger scale and decided to build a windmill on Lynch Knoll in Gloucestershire.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE?

Five years. I had no money, no qualifications and no experience. I visited the UK’S only windfarm, in Cornwall, and spoke to Enercon, a German wind company. Triodos bank funded 80 per cent of the project, but planning permission and connecting to the local grid was difficult. The windmill was up and running by the end of 1996. At 40 metres tall, it was the largest in the country.

HOW MANY DO YOU RUN NOW?

We’ve built 24 windfarms from Devon to Dundee. Our 74 turbines power the equivalent of 44,000 homes, saving more than 34,000 tonnes of CO2 each year. Ecotricity supplies 200,000 customers. Our symbol is a green Union Jack, because we’re trying to create a green Britain, using renewable energy.

IS THAT POSSIBLE?

I think it could happen within ten years. When Ecotricity started, under three per cent of the UK’S electricity was renewable. It’s already 30 per cent.

WON’T IT BE NOISY?

Modern turbines are much quieter than older ones and we wouldn’t build them next to homes.

WHAT ABOUT THE LANDSCAPE?

Some people don’t like how they look, but our planet is at stake! Compared to fossil fuel extraction, windmills are also less harmful to wildlife.

WHAT ELSE ARE YOU DOING?

Creating solar energy and working on a green gas project made from mown grass. It’s fermented into silage, then broken down in an anaerobic digestor to make methane. It’s a new way to make gas.

CAN IT BEAT CLIMATE CHANGE?

We have all the technology; we just need to give up fossil fuels. I’m asking the government to divert subsidies from polluters to renewable energy producers, but it’s everyone’s responsibility. Energy, transport and food produce the most greenhouse gases. We need to vote with our wallets for the world we want to live in.

YOU HAVE A FOOTBALL CLUB, TOO…

In 2011, I bought Forest Green Rovers, the world’s greenest football club. The team drive electric cars, we serve vegan food at matches and our tasty pea protein burgers are free from all 14 allergens.

AND WHAT’S THIS ABOUT DIAMONDS?

I’ve devised a way to turn carbon from the atmosphere into diamonds, which are made into jewellery. The profits will go into building new sources of green energy – glamorous and good fun!